X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurement, and specifically X-ray microfluorescence (i.e., X-ray fluorescence using narrow, focused excitation beams), is gaining increasing attention as a method for testing semiconductor wafers. XRF itself is a well-known technique for determining the elemental composition of a sample. XRF analyzers generally include an X-ray source, which irradiates the sample, and an X-ray detector, for detecting the X-ray fluorescence emitted by the sample in response to the irradiation. Each element in the sample emits X-ray fluorescence in energy bands that are characteristic of the element. The detected X-ray fluorescence is analyzed to find the energies or, equivalently, the wavelengths of the detected photons, and the qualitative and/or quantitative composition of the sample is determined based on this analysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,398, for example, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes an XRF analyzer and a method for analyzing a sample. The analyzer includes an X-ray beam generator, which generates an X-ray beam incident at a spot on the sample and creates a plurality of fluorescent X-ray photons. An array of semiconductor detectors is arranged around the spot so as to capture the fluorescent X-ray photons. The analyzer produces electrical pulses suitable for analysis of the sample.
The use of X-ray microfluorescence for testing semiconductor wafers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,516, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes a non-destructive method for testing the deposition and/or the removal of a material within a recess on the surface of a sample. An excitation beam is directed onto a region of the sample in a vicinity of the recess, and an intensity of X-ray fluorescence emitted from the region is measured. A quantity of the material that is deposited within the recess is determined responsively to the measured intensity.
Another application of X-ray microfluorescence is described by Lankosz et al., in a paper entitled “Research in Quantitative X-ray Fluorescence Microanalysis of Patterned Thin Films,” Advances in X-ray Analysis 43 (1999), pages 497-503, which is incorporated herein by reference. The authors describe a method for X-ray fluorescence microanalysis using a collimated micro-beam. The method is applied for testing the thickness and uniformity of thin films prepared by ion sputtering techniques.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,652, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for measurement of critical dimensions by irradiating a surface of a substrate with a beam of X-rays. A pattern of the X-rays scattered from the surface due to features formed on the surface is detected and analyzed to measure a dimension of the features in a direction parallel to the surface. Typically, the substrate comprises a semiconductor wafer, on which a test pattern is formed for the purpose of measuring critical dimensions of functional features of microelectronic devices in fabrication on the wafer. In one embodiment, the test pattern comprises a grating structure, made up of a periodic pattern of ridges, having attributes (such as height, width and spacing) similar to those of the functional features in question.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,051, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for determining see layer thickness of trench sidewalls. The method involves forming a conformal seed layer over a barrier layer in a trench that is formed in a substrate. A beam of X-rays is directed at the seed layer sidewall portions, and the reflected X-ray signal is measured in order to determine the thickness of the sidewall portions.